The winner of the Hahnenkamm Races in Kitzbühel not only is awarded with a huge amount of prize money, but he is also able to inaugurate a gondola with his own name on it. Today thus honoured have been Klaus Kröll (AUT), Didier Defago (SUI) and Silvan Zurbriggen (SUI). "We will be there for sure", the ski athletes agreed and took a trip to the town of the Hahnenkamm.
What first catches your eye when you go to the top of the Hahnenkamm are the cable cars. They have the names of the most famous and best skiers on them. They can be called the best ones because only the best are able to win the Hahnenkamm Race. There are no one-time stars, the one who wins at Kitzbühel is really a full blown racer. Austrian Klaus Kröll has come to the city of the chamois with his girlfriend Silvia and his son Tim to inaugurate his cable car. Klaus won this year's Super G at the kick-off event of the Hahnenkamm race week despite a fractured carpal bone. "To win Kitzbühel is almost equal to winning a World Championship title", he thinks according to what can be read on his website. The athlete from Öblarn just failed to win the Downhill, as Swiss Didier Defago could no be beaten. Defago came to the Mecca of the Alpine World Cup with his family and a bunch of fans. The skier from Valais had claimed the title at the Lauberhorn only a week before that and by winning the Hahnenkamm Downhill he achieved the peak of the racing season. Also the proud winner of the Combined Silvan Zurbriggen (SUI) came to Kitzbühel with his family for the inauguration. He was really happy about the victory, which was the top result of his season. He not only celebrated his first World Cup title but he also is the winner of the Hahnenkamm in 2009, the true winner of the Hahnenkamm always being the one who wins the Combined. Zurbriggen along with Walter Tesch (1976), Pirmin Zurbriggen (1986, 1987, 1990) as well as Paul Accola (1992) is only the fourth Swiss to have won the Hahnenkamm Combination.
This wonderful day not only made the athletes happy, also the fans promised to return to the site soon. After a walk from the top to the bottom of the Streif everyone was impressed by the race course and even the winner of the Downhill, Didier Defago was overwhelmed with the steepness of the terrain. "You don't really realize this, when you are on skis", he explained.
Klaus Kröll from Styria was the first one to receive his gondola. His girlfriend Silvia and his son Tim, his parents Helmut and Monika and a small group of sports enthusiasts went along with the calm, level-headed winner of the Hahnenkamm Super G. He truly enjoyed the day on the Hahnenkamm, as he has only got a limited amount of time to spend with his family.
Défago, the popular athlete from Valais looked back on the day of victory at the Hahnenkamm in January: "Before the race I was sitting exactly on this chair on my own for ten minutes and thinking. After the start, things go very quickly. For me the most important section is the Steilhang exit. At this point it is important not to take the direct line. In the traverse (at the Hausberg) you finally win or lose." To answer the question, how many times he went through the race course in his head before the Downhill, he said that he did not do that very often. It is more important to keep it all in mind. "You just have to know the Streif", Defago explained.
For Silvan Zurbriggen the handover of the gondola was a very emotional moment. He was excited about this event already weeks ago. "Today I am attending the second prize giving ceremony. It is a wonderful and important day. This makes me even more determined for the upcoming season." Up until now he has started in 136 World Cup Events, in five of which he reached the podium. Zurbriggen's victory in Kitzbühel was his first World Cup win. He states: "This is a cornerstone of my career."
